Dump-door operating mechanism



Sept. 1, 1925.

A. CAMPBELL DUMP DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 30, 1923 3Sheets-Sht aet /N VENTDR ARGYLE CAMPBELL- Br J '/-//s ATToRNEY Sept. 1,1925. I 1,551,800

A. CAMPBELL DUMP DOOR OPERATING MECHANIM Filed NOV. 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet2 /9 29 ,5 f

/NVE/;/TOR

AKGYLE CAMPBELL.

WITNESSE 4 MA. Y 5ATT0R Sept. 1, 1925.

A. CAMPBELL DUMP DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM drawings; forming: a" part ofthis Patented Sept. 1, 1925.

g STATE-S",

ENJT numrmdon ornm n' w e nmrmmsn;

' To all whomz't flung 1 concern:

Be it known that I, Anoynn CAMPBELL,

a citizen of: the Unitmi State msiding M Chicago; in the: county 0% Cookand S ma. 51 of Illinois; have invented a cer't-a in'in w and useful IImprovement Dump-Door :Opomtg ing: Meohanismsg of? which the? followingis a 1111 clean, concise;

I and Ie'xalot desoription';

reference; being had to the acomnpanying tiOIL' This invention relatesto imp rovmentn dunifi oars having a rotata ble domfrwisi'ng. shaftsnpptnte'dl in s-lot tfod Beming's' and adopted 1 to" movefrom a;position adjacent thefree ectge of the discharge -doors to" a positiondi-rctly under" the same:

My invention relates more particnl all y to the n'ovI means employed ionrotating the' shaft and provides for increased lovernge" and a greaterniea'surego'f" saffiyj'for th'o'fopera-tor than" has heretofore-,1; beenthe" Cash;

1n thekoperationi ofca fsmtt, thvtypo indi-i;

ca te d Ii-aJSbeentI-m practice in thofpa st todispose the shaftrotating-means di-lfect'lyj' unison" therewitH but inasmuchs the heavyloads onithe doors; caiu so the shaft to moV outwardly androtatewithngljeatpood dining therel easingx operationof" tho door the";operator is; liable todnjury byqmck kio'k of? the operating lever dnetoflsuch sn'dlon out? ward movomonti of the shaft 1 and le've'r; It'is"thereforo an object of my. invention to" oiz'f I come the disadvantagereferf'ed ,t'dby ope'r'zit ing the shaft with means which-will 16 8independent of the shaftnndj which will" still function to rotate theshziftthrofugh'ont its entirerange of bodily movement,

Further, invention .resid sfi imceitainf novel-'constructlon of partsnndnovel com binations of the parts; as Wil-l be more; fully specification,Figure- 1 is a 'seotional View of a portion of wear structure showingm'yinvention applied to adumpcari of the {type illnstratd illlhy former-U.S: Pafient'N 1,28%,056; d'afd November, 5,1918. 7 A'sfwillunderstoodfiby those skilled tho'ya'trt; 1 v I h aaie only; 'illustiatdSl lfiiOi jQnt 0f tho cQFj structure 'andldoor operating mechanism to 41s. antrzvnsverse sootional The invention is especially adapted: it?

olniwvardly and the operating the drawings fornnng "a p'aT't of thisexplain the invention. In: actual- 1:5ractfl'ct-fi;

therekwil'l ordinanily be a plurality of doorsably two flexibl'connections: or chains and assooratd elements with e'a ch' door; Figure-'2 is a: side elovationst l View of that portion in shows thecommencement 1 of the: door re: lensnngl operation with the operating;pawl l'n nengagezlnent with; the ratchet wheel:- l lgure 6'1S a V1ewsnni1ar to Fig. 5 13111? lllustmtm t1'1e:- poslnon: of: the releasing 7operating pa -xyll after the completion I of" the stroke, t1win1tintio11v of WhiCh is showm in Fi'gv 5.: Ftgurefi iseia view similarto Figs' 1 oxcejiti that; the: shaft is located in the recessed.portion, of the bearing and shows tinned in cooperatin :en zvgemeno withthe ratchet wheel" preparatory to an: inwardmovementoi the carriago fortho purpose: of: displacing the: awl relatively to the shaft;

and: imituoing': many: movementof the said shown in Fig. 6. v

sa'i'dz drawing the invention is'nppfied to a ondola type io' f cdrptovided with a 113 seonfqd the'r'ot-o. 12 I of which? the}, outerpoltiiononly thereof is shown i n" dotted lines;- is manned in Figs;- 531 161 7 and" includes-a suita'ble f z a' zno Figure f 8 a; view similarto: Fig '6 except that-it sh'owsztho 0'01lr lpletionof? tho niovlnent;the initiation of which is motion is lnaclofl btweel'l a longitudinallextending Shaft 15 andtna J door by means The door shaft is supported inbearing plates 18 secured to the transverse beams 11. Each of thebearing plates, as shown, is formed with an elongated slot 19 having adepression 20 at the outer end thereof.

In this particular construction, the mechanism associated with theoperation of the shaft consists of devices for securing the shaftagainst unintentional reverse rotation thereof, during the raisingoperation and for positively locking the shaft in supporting positionbeneath the doors, and is designated broadly by the reference characterA. There is also a separate mechanism for inducing rotary movement ofthe shaft, said mechanism being designated broadly by the referencecharacter B. In this general type of mechanism, as the shaft 15 isturned in a closing direction, the flexible elements 16 wind on theshaft thus lifting the doors until the latter are almost in closedposition, at which time further winding of the members 16 on the shaftpull the same inwardly along the bearing slots until the serrated wheels17 engage with the rounded faces 14 of the brackets and, thereafter, theshaft is rolled under the doors, thus forcing the latter to fully closedposition and also holding them closed with the load transferred to theshafts.

The respective mechanisms A and B are disposed on opposite sides of thecrossbeam 11. Said mechanism A is of the general type disclosed in mypending application, Ser. No. 605,787, filed December 9th, 1922, and noclaim is made to the same herein. Said mechanism A consists of a creeper21 mounted on the shaft and movable in unison there with, said creeperhaving an arm 22 (see Fig. 1) outstanding therefrom and adapted to slidein a slotted bracket 23, a weighted pawl 24 pivotally mounted on thecreeper and adapted to have co-operating engagement with a ratchet wheel25 rigidly secured to the shaft, and a cam 26 which is pivotally mountedon the creeper and adapted to lock the pawl 24 relatively to the ratchetwheel 25.

The mechanism B for imparting rotary motion to the shaft consists of areciprocating carriage member 26 having a pair of pawls 27 and 28pivotally mounted thereon and co-operable with a ratchet wheel 29 whichis rigidly mounted on the shaft. Said reciprocating carriage member 26is slidably mounted in suitable guides 30 and 31 spaced from each otherand respectively secured to the ear structure, said guide 30 beingmounted on the side sill 10 and the guide 31 on the crossbeam 11. Themovable carriage member 26 is preferably formed of channel shape withupwardly extending flanges 32-32 between which said pawls 27 and 28 aredisposed and in different vertical planes, bosses 33 serving to spacethe pawls from each other. Pawl 27 operates to rotate the ratchet wheelin a direction to raise the shaft and pawl 28 operates to rotate theshaft in an unwinding direction or in a direction to provide for therelease of the shaft from beneath the dump doors.

Said pawl 28 is preferably provided with a projecting finger 34 adaptedto extend through a slot 134 in the member 26 and thereby enable theoperator to readily grasp the said pawl. The lower surface of the member26 is provided with a series of teeth 35 with which an oscillatablymounted member 36 is adapted to co-operate through the medium of teeth37 for the purpose of reciprocating the said member 26. While the saidmember 36 may be of any desired form, which will provide a handhold forthe operator, a preferred construction is to form' the same with asocket portion 38 within which a suitable bar or tool 39 may beinserted. Said member 36 is pivotally mounted on a bracket 40 dependingfrom the crossbeam 11 and disposed intermediately of the aforesaidguides 30 and 31.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 there is provided on the bracket 40, alaterally projecting boss 41 extending beneath the movable member 26 andwithin a bearing portion 4-2 formed on the member 36. The boss 41 isperforated at 43 and a bolt or pin 44 passed therethrough and throughthe member 36 for the purpose of maintaining the latter in position onthe bracket 40, the outer wall of the socket portion 38 being perforatedat 45 to permit of access to the said pin 44. The teeth 37, which areadapt-ed to mesh with teeth 35, are suitably braced to the sides of thesocket by means of flanges 46-46 and in order to protect the fingers ofthe operator from accidental amming in the teeth, guards are provided oneach side of the teeth in the form of walls 47-47 (see Fig. 2) which arepreferably formed integrally with the movable member 26, said wallsfurther protecting the teeth from ice and snow and preventing particlesof rock or coal from lodging in the teeth which would thereby tend tointerfere with the proper opera tion of the mechanism.

The oscillatably mounted member 36 is preferably so formed that it willmove to :1 depending position by gravity as illustrated in Fig. 1 and,when in such position, serve to centralize the member 26. In order toassure that such centralizing action will be automatic, the lower end ofthe socket portion is weighted as indicated at 48. In instances wherethe car is only dumped at infrequent intervals, it is desirable to retract the sliding member away from the car side and to this end I haveprovided a hook member'49 having one end secured in the hole 50 formedin the guide member 30 and the opposite end thereto engageable with aimmenhole 51 formed in the end 0f: the osci llatably mounted memberTheiposition ol :the parts :36 andflet) WltlltlIB hook member 49 inengagement with themernber36 .is indicated by-dotted lines in FigureTheoperationof the device is as follows, assuming that the doors areclosed and the parts positioned as shown in Fig. 1 "with the operatingpaw-ls in inoperative position. Having disengaged pawl from the ratchetWheels 725, the operator inserts the bar 39 in the socket portion 38 andsavings 7 the :same in a 'clockwise direction which has the erfi ect ofmovlngthe member 26 inward ly. lHe then moves the pawl 28 intoengagement with the ratchet Wheel 29 when a counter "Clockwisemovement-of the bar will reverse the movement of the member 26 and movethe same ,outwardly to the. position indicated ii 1.:'I+-:i g. 6.'Duri-n-g'the movement of-the bar froni'the position shown in Fig.

wvardly, the ratchetfiwhee'la '29. trees :ltSBlIf from itsengagementwith the pawl 28 "due to tho fact that "the same is arrangedkto drop bygravity tov-an inoperative position with respect to its ratchet Wheel,it being necessary for theoperaitor to manually position the-pawl '28 inengagement with the ratchet Wheel each tirne' that the movable carriageis reciprocated, thereby permitting the shaft to travel away from andindependently of-the operating carriage and 'as suring safety to theoperator. When the dump doors are in opened position, the shaft rests:in thedepr'essed por tion 20 of the bearing and the operation of raisingthe doors to closed position is as fol lovvs'z The weighted pawl 2% isfirst .permitted to engage the ratchet wheel '25, the operative re'l ation being maintained automatically thereafter as more fully explained inany saidprior application; The operator then moves the operating bar 39.in a counterclockwise direction thereby moving the carriage "26outwardly The pawl is next manually brought into engagement with the F fratchet wheel 29 and on reversal of the movement of the-carriage by therotation Qfllhe bar 39 in a clockviisedi re'ctionthe parts assume theposition -11 m in 'Fig. =8..

These- 'opcra tions "are" repeated until t he doO-lS are lifted to fullyclosed position an d the shaft iii-as. traveled inwardly ;toiaxsnpporting position beneath :the door, heing' drawn inwardlythereunder by JIQEISOII of the flexible element '16 WlhCll11'g)11the-shatfit. Because of the reciprocating action 10f the movablecarriage, the rotary motion of .-'the shaft is of an intermittentcharacter and during the interval oftime.betweensnccessire engagementoiythe teeth, the shaftis maintained against reversaliby the engagement"of the pawl 2 1; with the ratchet Wheel 25.

Thetinvention is particularly applicable to a type of car Whereintheshaft-is located. I

behind aqsill I above the lower level. thereof and obscured from .viewand =diflicu'l t a of accesszto theopera-tor ibut its application-isnotflimited to cars of sn'chficonstr-uction and I contemplate the usedof:the =saine on v cars of various designs. For instance, the clevice mayconveniently be located the end sill of :axcar When-the dump:doorsexftend over the trucks or it maybe utilized on shafts employedwith doors 'whiachl-ex tend transverselyof the car. I

lVh-ile 1 I have shown one .reinbodi'nient :of

plate alilmchanges which .come Within :the spirit and scope of theclaims appended hereto.

l -WhatiIclaimisL' I 1.'- Iin az door operating mechanism, thecombination With an operating shaft adapted to be reoiproc'ated byrotation thereo f of a ratchet Wheel secured to the shaft; a pawladapted t -engage the said ratchet wheel tand means, independent f thesh afit,

.my invention, it is to'be undeistood thatzthe same ismerelyillustrative and Teen-temfor moving "the pawl relatively to the'sha ft and thereby inducing rotary' m'ovement 04? 5 the shaft. v

2. In a door operating mechanism, the combination with an operatingshaft adapt ed to be reciprocated by rotation thereof; of a 'movablemember independent of the shaft; a ratchet Wheel carried byEtheshaft;and a pawl adapted to engage the ratchet Wheel and re-act against themovable member, said pawl ,belng adapted to exert a Wedging actionbetween the movable n'enaher and the ratchet {Wheel on the shaft andthereby induce a rotary movement bit the shaft. I

-'3. In a ca-r door operating mechanism, the =eombinatio'n with anoperating shaft adapted to be reciprocated by rotation there o f; of aratchet wheel secured-to the-shafit; a pawl adapted to engage saidratchet Wheel; and a movable member operativel-y associated'Wi-th thepawl in such manner that movement w 'thenieinber one 'di-rec tion willchange1t he relative position between the pawl and the sha ft 'and'thereby inducea rotary movement of the latter." r a damp ca-r, thecombination with" an operating shaft adapted to be reciprocated byrotation thereof; of means mounted on and adapted to travel in unisonwith the shaft for the purpose of securing the shaft against rotation;and means mounted on the car and independently of the shaft for rotatingthe said shaft.

5. I11 a dump car having a depending sill and a door operating shaftextending parallel to said sill located behind it above the lower edgeof the sill and normally obscured from view, the combination with aratchet wheel rigidly secured to the shaft; of means for rotating saidshaft, said means including: an oscillatable member mountedindependently of the shaft and below the level of the sill, andmechanism engageable with said ratchet wheel, said mechanism beingadapted to be actuated by movement of said oscillatable member.

6. In a dump car door operating mechanism, the combination with anunderframe; of a movable shaft; a ratchet wheel fixed to the shaft; amovable member provided with teeth; guides for said member; a pawlpivotally mounted on the movable member and co-operable with the ratchetwheel to rotate the same on movement of the movable member; and meansfor imparting movement to the movable member, said means including ahanger oscillatably mounted on the underframe and having a portionthereof formed concentrically with the axis of rotation thereof andhaving teeth formed thereon co-operable with the teeth on the movablemember.

7. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with a dump door;of a bodily movable shaft adapted to first raise the door and thereaftermove bodily to supporting position beneath the door, said movement beingeffected by rotation of the shaft; a flexible connection between theshaft and the door; and means mounted on the car structure independentlyof the shaft for rotating said shaft, said means including: a movablemember and a plurality of pawls mounted on the said member, one of thesaid pawls being engageable with the shaft to rotate the shaft in onedirection and the other of said pawls being adapted to en gage the shaftto rotate the same in the opposite direction.

8. In a dump car door operating mechanism, the combination with a bodilymovable shaft; of a ratchet wheel fixed to the shaft; a movable member;guides for said movable member; a pawl pivotally mounted on the movablemember, said pawl being adapted to be manually positioned in cooperatingengagement with the ratchet wheel and adapted to automatically assume aninoperative position with respect to the ratchet wheel; and means forimparting movement t the movable member whereby the relation between thepawl and the ratchet wheel when in operative engagement may be variedand rotary movement of the shaft effected 9. In a car door operatingmechanism, the combination with an operating shaft adapted to bereciprocated by rotation thereof; of a ratchet wheel secured to theshaft; a pawl adapted to engage the said ratchet wheel, said pawl havinga depending portion constituting a fingerhold for the positioning of thepawl; and a movable member on which said pawl is mounted, said movablemember having a perforation therein through which said depending portionof the pawl is adapted to extend.

10. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with an operatingshaft adapted to be reciprocated by rotation thereof; of a movablemember independent of the shaft; a ratchet wheel carried by the shaft; aplurality of pawls disposed in different vertical planes, said pawlsbeing oppositely disposed and mounted on independent pivots, one of saidpawls being engageable with the ratchet wheel to rotate the shaft in onedirection and the other pawl being engageable torotate the shaft in theopposite direction; and means for imparting motion to the movablemember.

11. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with a rotatableoperating shaft; of a ratchet wheel fixed to said shaft; a movablemember provided with teeth on its under surface; a plurality ofoperating pawls mounted on said movable member, said pawls beingoppositely disposed on the movable member and adapted to engage theratchet wheel to rotate the shaft in opposite directions; and means formoving the movable member, said means including a toothed sectorpivotally mounted on the car structure engageable with the teeth on saidmovable member.

12. In a dump car, the combination with a door operating shaft adaptedto be re ciprocated by rotation thereof; of a member rigid with theshaft; a plurality of bracket guides secured to the car structure; amovable member adapted to have sliding motion within said guides; abracket disposed intermediate the said guides, said bracket having aboss outstanding therefrom; an oscillating member pivotally mounted onsaid boss of the bracket and adapted to have cooperating engagement withthe movable member whereby both of said members will move in unison; anda co-operating member between the movable member and the rigid member onthe shaft whereby movement of the movable member will induce a rotarymovement of the shaft.

13. In a dump car door operating mechanism, the combination with anoperating shaft adapted to be reciprocated by rotation anism, thecombination with thereof; of a member having movement in the plane ofreciprocation of the shaft; a pawl member adapted to have operativeengagement with the movable member and the shaft to rotate the same; andan oscillatable member co-operating with the movable. member to displacethe latter and move the same to either side of a central position, saidmovable member being adapted to be automatically returned to suchcentral position when not in use.

14. In a dump car, the combination with a car side; of a door operatingshaft disposed within the plane of the car sides and adapted to bereciprocated by rotation thereof; of a member independent of the shaftand movable in the plane of reciprocation of the shaft to a positionbeyond the limit of the car side, said member carrying a pawl adapted toco-operate with the shaft to rotate the same; and means for retractingthe member away from the car side and locking the same in such retractedposition.

15. In a dump car door operating mecha side sill; of a rotatableoperating shaft behind said silland normally obscured from view;actuating means mounted independent of said shaft, said means beingpivotally mounted rotation and bodily movement and arranged I to move toa position beneath the free ends of the door to support the latter inclosed position; of a flexible connection between the door and shaft bymeans of which the door is elevated and said shaft is rotated in onedirection; means co-operable with said shaft to prevent accidentalrotation of the latter in an unwinding direction when the door is beingmoved to closed position; andmeans for effecting rotation of said shaftin either direction, said means including an operating element supportedindependently of the shaft, a reciprocating element supportedindependent of the shaft; and co-operating devices on said reciprocatingelement and shaft. 7

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethis 23rd day of November, 1923.

ARGYLE CAMPBELL.

